ResQU2

Better prepared for emergency situations

The ResQU2 platform helped hundreds of rescue professionals to increase their preparedness for emergency situations at sea and in seaports and to coordinate search-and-rescue operations in the Baltic Sea more efficiently. The partners took best practices from the maritime safety projects of Interreg Baltic Sea Region and coupled them with the knowledge of the project from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

Sharing best practices on safety and security management

Through events, peer-to-peer learning, staff exchanges, and joint training sessions, the platform partners shared best practices on safety and security management in ports, risk and crisis communication, rescue operations at sea and in ports. These practices could be used in different circumstances, for example, when human lives were in danger or when chemicals were involved in a maritime incident. Many different authorities and services benefited from these learning exercises: emergency, fire and rescue services, border and coast guards, police, ministries of interior, and agencies dealing with safety and security issues around the Baltic Sea region and beyond. The partners also worked with the coordinators of the EUSBSR policy areas Safe and Secure.

New coordination group for divers

The platform helped formalise cooperation in emergency preparedness and rescue diving  in the region. National and regional rescue authorities involved in the platform set up an international coordination group and signed a policy paper outlining the strategic development of divers in the Baltic Sea region. This coordination group helps utilise the scarce rescue resources in the best way for saving lives in the Baltic Sea. The organisations committed to the group are the Finnish Border Guard, Polish Navy, Hamburg Fire and Rescue Department, Fire and Rescue Department of Lithuania, Latvian Navy, Safety Region Zeeland, Swedish Fire Department (Stockholm), and Swedish Navy. The rescue diving was a pilot case for the partners to test out the approach and policy paper. Its suggestions may serve as guidance for setting up cooperation and coordination within other search-and-rescue activities.

Further, the platform looked into what could be done to further improve emergency preparedness: for example, by strengthening networking among international knowledge teams and expert groups, developing a mutual emergency response capacity, and enhancing information management.

Network is the key

All in all, the authorities and services emphasised the importance of shared procedures and trust that were at the core of the participating projects and the ResQU2 platform. One of the most valued outcomes of the platform was the possibility to get to know peers and their resources in other regions and countries. This was the knowledge that may help save lives one day.